Colocasia 'mojito'

UPBigBoy4014February 24, 2014

I am considering purchasing a Colocasia esculenta 'mojito' plant. I find this foliage plant beautiful. Does this plant spread quickly? I am planning on purchasing a half a whiskey barrel from Lowes or Home depot. Is this an appropriate container? Also, what are some other plants, preferably perennials, that would go well with this plant?

I love Elephant ears and would love to grow that one. For the past couple summers, I grew three tubers of ordinary colocasias in a smallish (15-20 gallon) half whiskey barrel made with the 5-1-1 mix discussed on this forum. It was in partial shade and needed lots of water. They grew 6-feet tall and were lush and fast growing, but they didn't "spread" in one summer season. In my zone, I have to dig them up in the fall to winter inside. So I can't answer your question about long term companion plants.

I seriously considered caladiums last summer, but my budget was tight and I felt I would need several largish ones to balance the plant. I started out with a low growing annual vine in contrasting colors instead. It attracted aphids so I pulled it out in mid-summer.

I think caladiums would look good and work well, but I did notice that my container was densely filled with roots by season's end. So you would need to feed and water more if you add them. I had to water my elephant ears in the shade more than full grown tomatoes in the same size containers in full sun.